Reverse-current and low-voltage circuit-breaker.



A. E. WEAVER.

REVERSE cuHRm AND Low VONAGE CIRCUIT BHEAKER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 20,194.

atend Ebb. 1919.

im NS W/ TIVESSELS:

UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEroE.

vALBERT E. WEAVER, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO SWARTZ ELECTRIC CO., OF INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA, A CORPORATION.

REVERSE-CURRENT AND LOW-VOLTAGE CIRCUIT-BREAKER.

Be it known that l, .-'t'Lln-:u'r E. iVl-rxvnn, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Indianapolis, county of Marionr` and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Reverse-Current and Low-Voltage Circuit-Breakers; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being'had to the accompanying drawings. in which like letters refer to like parts.

rlhis invention has been designed `for particular' use in connection with an individual electric lightingl plant wherein a storage battery is employed which is charged from a generator driven by an internal combustion engine and the generator serves both the function of the generator for generating electricity and charging the battery and supplying the lamps. and the generator serves also as a motor, taking its current from the storage battery for starting the engine.

The object of the invention is to protect the Storage battery from overdischarge and to prevent the current from reversing and the battery from discharging through the generator as a motor, during the charging operation? andto accomplish said objects by a simple means which is iron clad and does not are.'

The full nature ofthe invent-ion willbe understood Jfrom the, accompanying drawings and the following description and claim.

4In the drawings. Figure 1 4is a central vertical section through such circuit breaker in normal position. Fig. Q is the same in actuated position. Fig. 3 shows the lower part of Fig. 1 with the device partially actuated midway between the positions shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 4- is a diagram of the Wiring.

`There is shown herein an iron shell 10 which is tubular in form with an iron cap 1 1 at one end and an yiron screw cap 1'2 at the other end. tentrally within said shell a fiber tube 13 is secured` one end surrounding a central. inwardly extending stationary iron rod 14 which is secured to the cap 1l. and thc other end of the tube 13 extends through and beyond the cap 12. At each end of the shell on the inside of each cap there is also a fiber disk 15. qWithin the outer portion of the tube 13 there is a thin brass tube 16 which serves as a guide for a Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 20, 1914. Serial No. 852,015.

Patented Feb. 4, 1919.

plunger 17. The outer end of the plunger 17 projects beyond the sleeve and is slotted at 1S and through said slot a cotter pin 19 extends from the tube 13 so as to limit the outward movement ot' the plunger and also guide actuate it.

On the end cap 12 there is shown secured a phosphor bronze contact spring 20 which has a. transverse lportion secured to the `cap and the ends thereof are turned outward and inward and on one end there is secured a removable high resistance larbon Contact 21. On the outer end of the plunger there. is secured a phosphor bronze contact spring 22 by a nut 23 and its ends are bent at' an yinclination inward so as to be substantiallyv parallel with the. outer ends of the contact n spring 2O and on one end of said spring i there is a removable high resistance carbon cont-act 24 adapted to engage'the contact 21 on the spring 20, upon the inward movement of the plunger 17 before the other ends of the springs Q0 and '22 act and thus prevent areing between said Contact springs. The end of the tube 13 limits the inward movement of the plunger 17 when the spring 22 comes in contact with such tube. 'There is an air gap 30 between the rod 14.- and theplunger 17 at all times and yit is about one- SiXteenth of an inch wide when the circuit breaker is closed.

There is a primary winding f.) surrounding the tube 13 wit-h ,one end 132-5 thereof leading to a storage battery 50. and lthe other end 3i connected with the contact spring 20. There is a secondary winding $5 surrounding the primary winding and connected with the battery 50 and a generator 51 through wires 3G. 13b and Q36. and a wire 37 leads from a switch 52 in position to connect it either with the generator 51 through a wire 53 or with lamps 54 through wire 55. The primary .and secondary windings are connected at the point. 3S.

The nature and operation ofthe invention will be understood when considered in connection with the mechanism with which it is designed to be used. as illustrated in Fig. 4. Thus during the charging of the storage battery. the secondary winding is thrown across the generator terminals by the switch 52, which pullsV up the plunger 17 and then the secondary winding 1s across the battery and generator in parallel. and from this it is obvious tha'tJ the circuit to the battery would not be closed until the generator is generating electricity. Then as, soon .as the current passes through the primary winding in the same direction as 1n the secondary winding, it assists in pulling up the plunger with a great t rce which increases the spring pressure between the Contact springs 20 andy 22, and further asv the ail-gap between the plunger'l 17 and rod '14 diminishes, tl e forcel of their mutual attraction is increase This is important because if for some reason the vprimemover of the generator, such as the engine, becomes disabled, the generator circuit gradually comes to zero, and when the battery circuit starts to pull up in the opposite direction, it induces inthe secondary winding a counter electromotive force to that already in the secondary winding, when the windings are" properly calculated, as when the primary winding is made of 32 turns of N o. 9 wire and the secondary winding of 6,000 turns of No. 28 wire. 'Then the current in the secondary wire is opposed by an equal and opposite current set up by this counter electromotive force and consequently it is reduced to zero and the plunger drops, thus opening the circuit breaker.

Also when the lamps 54 are thrown on the storage battery by the switch 52 in such device, the secondary circuit is lclosed across the battery terminals. If the voltage of the battery is high enough, the plunger 17 will rise, closing the circuit breaker which closes the battery 'and light circuit. When the voltage'of the battery falls to the minimum voltage allowable, the circuit Ibreaker automatically opens the circuit and protects the battery from overdischarge.

The high resistance carbons 2l and 24 and the shape of the contacts 20 and 22 prevent any arcing at the metal contacts.

The invention is not limited to the particular use here referred to or the particular diagram shown, as the latter is merely for the purpose of explaining the general nature of the invention. In'the diagram in Fig. 4, they lamps are connected with a battery through part of the line 36 and the same line connects the battery with the generator.

casing, a tube of insulated material located centrally within said casing, -a fixed core of magnetic material within said tube at the upper 'end thereof, a conducting plunger mounted to reciprocate in the tube and projecting through the other end thereof, and constantly separated by an air gap from the lower end of the core of magnetic material, primary and secondary windings surroundlng said tube, a springcontact member mounted on the casing adjacent said plunger and having a metal contact and having a high resistance contact, a corresponding contact member carried by the movable plunger and having corresponding contacts, and means whereby in the upward movement of the plunger the high resistance contacts engage before the other contacts, and means carried by the plunger and adapted to contact with the lower endof the tube for limiting the upward movement of the plunger J. H. WELLS, R. G. Locxwoon. 

